Why Nano Nuclear Energy Powered 23.5% Higher in May |

After climbing 14.2% in April, shares of Nano Nuclear Energy (NNE 9.94%) stayed red hot in May, continuing to soar higher. In addition to announcing a collaboration to deploy advanced nuclear reactors for data centers, the company’s progress toward regulatory approval helped drive shares higher.

According to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, shares of Nano Nuclear Energy rose 23.5% in May.

Nano Nuclear had big news about Super Micro

Given the significant power demands of artificial intelligence (AI), data center operators have increasingly pursued nuclear energy as a solution. This trend was further illustrated when Nano Nuclear announced in early May that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Super Micro Computer (SMCI 11.21%), a developer of data center infrastructure.

With the signing of the MOU, the two companies will evaluate the potential to deploy Nano Nuclear’s nuclear microreactors to provide on-site nuclear power for data centers and to integrate Supermicro’s AI server racks, cooling systems, and infrastructure with nuclear-powered energy solutions.

Addressing the importance of this new collaboration and how it could be a harbinger of future deals, Nano Nuclear stated in its press release that the “MOU represents a major step forward in Nano Nuclear’s strategy to become a leading energy provider for the AI and data center sector, which is rapidly emerging as one of the largest future consumers of electricity globally.”

Two weeks after announcing the MOU with Supermicor, Nano Nuclear announced that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission had formally accepted the company’s Construction Permit Application (CPA) for the deployment of its Kronos microreactor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

According to Nano Nuclear, the Kronos microreactor is “the first commercially ready microreactor to progress to the CPA stage of the U.S. NRC’s formal licensing process.”

Nano Nuclear stock is cooling off rather than heating up in June

Investor enthusiasm may have been high in May, but in the early days of June, shares are moving in the opposite direction. As of this writing, shares of Nano Nuclear are down more than 12% from their closing price of $28.88 on the last day of trading in May.

Instead of reflecting negative news about the company, the drop in Nano Nuclear stock is more a feature of the volatility of speculative stocks such as this nuclear energy stock. Therefore, those interested in nuclear energy stocks but uninterested in riding out wild stock price swings may prefer a nuclear energy ETF.

Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.